The History of the Peloponnesian War

I wish some of our politicians were better read. Many of the mistakes and strategy errors described by Thucydides are repeated by our representatives again and again, with the expectation of different results...?

I have no quibble with the narrator or the product. He and it are well-spoken and the reader does his best but somehow I wanted Thucydides to be more enjoyable and gripping. I bogged down on the detailed histories and speeches and intrigues and.... I felt like I needed maps and 3X5 cards and constant visual aids and coffee and dex and whatever, maybe a stiff drink? (n.b. I love Homer and it is possible modern history may be too much for me. :-)

Ok, this isn't something I could call light reading but It was really useful. I suspect my younger students will never like it but I love the fact I can have all my historical documents in my kindle and ready to use in class.

Originally written around 400 B.C., the book represents such incredible talent in authorship and translation that it dwarfs the efforts of most. To collect so much information without electronic transmission of news and write it out by hand is amazing.

I wanted to review the size and scope of the work an may get a larger copy since the type is extremely small.

I choose five stars because of the author, who was active in this conflict, and because of his immense knowledge of the geographical locations. Although it ended before the actual war did which resulted in Athens defeat, it was a great account of the times and relationships between Greeks, Medes, barbarians and the Syracusians and other tribes of Sicily and the southern half of the Italian peninsula.

The first and last words on the perennial conflict between democracy and oligarchy. The fact that oligarchy wins is not surprising. What is surprising is that the book contains the best description of both the Viet Nam and the Iraq Wars, both of them initiated by democrats proposing to make the world safe for democracy.

I started off despising my instructor for having us read this book. .. over the course of the book though my point of view changed completely. Even though this book is set 2400-ish years ago its lessons are still powerful today. I can totally see myself reading this one many times throughout my life. ... loved the pericles speeches and book 7 rocks!

The History of the Peloponnesian War, by Thucydides, tells the story of the war of that name that took place in Ancient Greece. Thucydides recounts his history of the war in eight books
The book begins with Sparta deciding that peace has been broken and that they need to go to war. After the vote for war, there also is a plague and they bury some of the lost. Lesbos revolts and war rages among times of peace and civil war. Thucydides recounts the events that take place in Sicily and an eventual "truce" and the consequences of the conflict. He goes over many battles in different cities telling of battles treaties, movements and so on. He tells the events of Amphipolis and the fighting there, and the talks with the people of Melos. Then come the events of Sicily again, and false hope, leading to the loss of Syracuse and chances of victory. With Syracuse lost defeat sets in, and all the way to Athens there is fear. With the Athenian Army decimated and hope lost, only 400 men remain to fight a final battle, and thus the history ends.
Thyucidides tells chronologically the events of the war, and in great detail. At over 600 pages, this is a very thorough and complete translation of the book. A recommended read for anyone, and a very informative and accuarate book and a wondrful translation by Steven Lattimore. A must read

This book offers something rare: an incredibly objective account of a protracted, bitter conflict. The detailed accounts given range from the ridiculous and petty to the grand and tragic, and serve to enhance the reader's transportation to ancient Greece in the twilight of her glory.

This book is timeless! The concepts are relevant today. The lesson is that people are always the same and knowing this you can predict their actions. This book, in the various "speeches" reveals the nature of man. This book is only incidentally about a war, it's real value is the insight into the human character.

I started off despising my instructor for having us read this book. .. over the course of the book though my point of view changed completely. Even though this book is set 2400-ish years ago its lessons are still powerful today. I can totally see myself reading this one many times throughout my life. ... loved the pericles speeches and book 7 rocks!

Great treatise on the development of war throughout human history. Thucydides writes in beautiful prose about the causes of war in ancient Greece. He writes as an objective observer, as a true historian with no bias and provides convincing arguments of what leads to the conflagration or war among many city states.

One of the first works of military history, The History of the Peloponnesian War is still read by international scholars today for its timeless themes of power, glory, betrayal, and pointless bloodshed. Highly recommended.

Greek warfare, meanwhile, originally a limited and formalized form of conflict, was transformed into an all-out struggle between city-states, complete with atrocities on a large scale. Shattering religious and cultural taboos, devastating vast swathes of countryside, and destroying whole cities, the Peloponnesian War marked the dramatic end to the fifth century BC and the golden age of Greece. This historical and literary classic has insights on war and politics as useful today as they were over 2,300 years ago. Writing at a time of intellectual revolution in Athens, Thucydides provides a vivid account of the deadly struggle between Athens and Sparta. His is the first history to place such a contest in a secular context; human will, not mythology, becomes fundamental to the explanation of important events. Moreover, the connection between military and political activity is recognized. Though scholars still debate the accuracy of his account, Thucydides set a new standard of professionalism for the period. Length and complexity of detail make for slow reading, but a must read for the professional warrior.

Greek warfare, meanwhile, originally a limited and formalized form of conflict, was transformed into an all-out struggle between city-states, complete with atrocities on a large scale. Shattering religious and cultural taboos, devastating vast swathes of countryside, and destroying whole cities, the Peloponnesian War marked the dramatic end to the fifth century BC and the golden age of Greece. This historical and literary classic has insights on war and politics as useful today as they were over 2,300 years ago. Writing at a time of intellectual revolution in Athens, Thucydides provides a vivid account of the deadly struggle between Athens and Sparta. His is the first history to place such a contest in a secular context; human will, not mythology, becomes fundamental to the explanation of important events. Moreover, the connection between military and political activity is recognized. Though scholars still debate the accuracy of his account, Thucydides set a new standard of professionalism for the period. Length and complexity of detail make for slow reading, but a must read for the professional warrior.

This book offers something rare: an incredibly objective account of a protracted, bitter conflict. The detailed accounts given range from the ridiculous and petty to the grand and tragic, and serve to enhance the reader's transportation to ancient Greece in the twilight of her glory.

I choose five stars because of the author, who was active in this conflict, and because of his immense knowledge of the geographical locations. Although it ended before the actual war did which resulted in Athens defeat, it was a great account of the times and relationships between Greeks, Medes, barbarians and the Syracusians and other tribes of Sicily and the southern half of the Italian peninsula.

Which superpower is the greater friend of liberty - the liberal democratic state that routinely intervenes in the affairs of minor powers, or the militaristic, oligarchic one that respects the sovereignty of even the most odious partners and despotic regimes as long as they maintain mutually advantageous relations? Can a democracy withstand a drawn-out defensive campaign with peripheral expeditions but no decisive, headline grabbing victories? Is an expensive campaign in a peripheral theatre to your primary threat always counterproductive? What happens when a democratic state persecutes its soldiers when they fail - or even when they succeed in their allotted tasks? In international relations, will the strong always do what they can and are the weak always fated to do what they must?

If you think that any of these questions are relevant today (hint - they are) you will find The History of the Peloponnesian War rewarding - Thucydides writes with a clarity and commitment to recounting events as objectively as his own engagement will allow, and produces an engrossing, timeless history that is ultimately far more than a simple recounting of events, opinions or a travelogue.

Not a good translation. I'm not particularly fond of translations that stick extremely close to the Greek, but this one goes too far in the opposite direction. The very first line of the translation is an indicator that this is an inaccurate one: "Thucydides the Athenian wrote the history of the war fought between Athens and Sparta" - the war was not just fought between Athens and Sparta, and the original makes this very clear by saying "between the Athenians and the Peloponnesians." The Corinthians and other Peloponnesian League members played a pivotal role in the war. I would recommend the Strassler/Crawley translation over this one. Alternatively: learn the Greek!

A classic of history, Thucydides was a participant in the Athenian/Spartan conflict, and has quite interesting reports on the at time hot and other times cold war between the two factions. The first hand reports of speechs are quite interesting.

Unfortunately, he didn't live long enough to finish the history.

Picked up while free. Just over 8k locations.

I'm reading Book IV. The translator wrote LONG, COMPLEX, COMPOUND sentences in which the first happenings often appear at the last of the sentence so read while you are alert, not at bedtime. An ancient map (or more) would be helpful as many of the places no longer exist or have different names now.

What better way to learn history than by reading primary documents and stories by someone who was "almost" there. Thucydides brings so much more than battles into his story; there are moments and dialogues where, even at this great distance, we see the workings of each individual and recognize that nothing has changed over the millennia, that mankind still struggles with its baser nature.

I really have the feeling that I am not knowledgable enough about the period in question in the Thucydides to provide any kind of reasonable context for the work. Instead, this review will focus on some reading tips and reactions aimed at the more generalist reader who may be attempting to get through the text.

First, the text is daunting. Be patient with it, and put it down if you need to. It pays off. I'm not someone who reads battle scenes with absorption, and still I found that if I absorbed the text in small enough doses, then I was able to follow with interest.

Second, use the appendices at the back. The explanations about the Spartan and Athenian Leagues, the Greek monetary system, and the Melian dialogues were actually quite helpful in places for reading the text. These appendices are provided in the Penguin edition of the Thucydides.

Third, take notes. There are a lot of big thoughts, and I found that I absorbed them better by writing them down for myself to think about later.

It is time-consuming to attempt the History of the Peloponnesian War. It is also worth it, to my mind. I got a lot out of reading it even without being a historian with expertise in the time and region. Give it a try, and give it the space that it deserves.

"So it is now reasonable for us to hope that the gods will be kinder to us, since by now we deserve their pity rather than their jealousy."

The Thucydides classic work of historical account is a great find among the free books. However, if you do want this free option, you will need at least a map of Ancient Greece to follow what is going on, Other guides might be useful as well, along with lectures available online. Still, hey, free Great Book!

Originally written around 400 B.C., the book represents such incredible talent in authorship and translation that it dwarfs the efforts of most. To collect so much information without electronic transmission of news and write it out by hand is amazing.

I wanted to review the size and scope of the work an may get a larger copy since the type is extremely small.

Anyone interested in history, anyone concerned about the future, should read Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War. To those readers who like to think, Thucydides is a starting premise. Gonzalo T. Palacios, Ph.D.

The first and last words on the perennial conflict between democracy and oligarchy. The fact that oligarchy wins is not surprising. What is surprising is that the book contains the best description of both the Viet Nam and the Iraq Wars, both of them initiated by democrats proposing to make the world safe for democracy.